Spark social enterprise competition winners to share £640,000 funding
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The 15 winners of the Spark social enterprise competition are to
share a combined prize fund of £640,000, it was announced
today.
From willow eco-coffins produced in Cambridge to inspiring catering
and hospitality under the guidance of executive London chef Simon
Boyle, the winning Spark social enterprises have won amounts
between £89,000 and £5,000, and showcase the best
business ideas and talent currently tackling homelessness in the
UK.
Housing Minister Ian Austin said: “Providing a route into
training is a major way of helping break the cycle of unemployment
and homelessness, and much of the success in recent years in
reducing homelessness has been down to this.
“The Spark social enterprises programme has already played a
major role in reducing homelessness by giving another chance to
many people who have spent time on the streets. I’m
very confident this second phase of the programme, which is
supported by £2.5m Government funding (over two years), will
keep on helping homeless people, and I congratulate all the
successful schemes.”
The 15 winners were selected from 140 entrants in the £1.6
million Spark challenge, which aims to champion organisations that
make a profit to tackle and prevent homelessness, following in the
footsteps of other well-known social enterprises such as The Big
Issue and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen.
Since being selected in March 2009, they have each had to prepare
their business case and pitch to a high profile panel of private,
public and third sector leaders. As well as allocating the prize
money, the panel also set each winner a challenge.
These challenges ensure the enterprises stay focused on winning new
business and meeting their social aims, whilst working alongside an
expert team from one of the corporate partners: BT, Places for
People and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Together, the enterprise and corporate team will take a combined
commercial and social approach to maximize the impact of the Spark
investment and their journey will be celebrated at an event on
November 25th 2009, held at the BT tower.
This year also sees a new generation of homeless entrepreneurs, as
7 individuals who have directly or recently experienced
homelessness come on board to receive personal and business support
and see the realisation of their truly creative business
ideas.
SPARKLERS is a new £50,000 pilot programme that offers
support for the person, their business and their business growth;
and with MP3 audio tours told from the street, juices and healthy
foods to revitalise the socially disadvantaged and music to spin
talented buskers out into festivals, the next 6 months should see
the development of some of the most exciting new businesses
tackling homelessness from where it’s at.
Here is a list of the winners and the funding they are to
receive:
ASPIRE OXFORD, Oxfordshire: £80,000
SPARK FABRICATIONS & FRAMING, Southampton: £60,000
HOUSE OF ST BARNABAS-SOHO, Central London: £30,000
WINTER WILLOW, Cambridge: £65,000
MERSEY STRIDE, Liverpool: £50,000
MATT 25- ADULLAM HOUSING, Birmingham: £5,000
BIKE IT- YOUR HOMES NEWCASTLE, Newcastle: £5,000
REFURNISH DEVON, Devon: £20,000
BEYOND BOYLE FOUNDATION, Central London: £60,000
ECO CENTRAL LANDSCAPES, East London:
£50,000
BLUE SKY, Newcastle: £40,000
FIRST FRUIT, East London: £89,000
WIGAN HOUSING SOLUTIONS, Wigan: £34,000
PAINT IT- FRAMEWORK HA, Nottingham: £25,000
RESETTLEMENT AGENCY, Devon: £5,000
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